Students in GAME 477, a course that challenges students in both Design and Computer Science to work as teams and create games for multiple devices, will reveal their final projects in a game launch event at Louisiana Tech University’s eSports Center.
The event will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, in the eSports Center, which is housed on the second floor of Tech’s Student Center.
“The teams begin the course working on simple game prototypes and formats and eventually work into a larger game project for their final,” said Jerry Berg, Associate Professor of Design, Interactive and Game Design. “The game launch event offers participants the opportunity to play student-designed video games while competing for prizes.”
Throughout the course, six teams of School of Design and Computer Science students collaborate to develop video games that differ in story, design style, mechanics, and structure. These students are often enrolled in Louisiana Tech’s Game Design minor, Berg said.
“The skills these students learn throughout the program will enrich their careers no matter what their future plans are,” Berg said. “In addition to video games, game-design skills are also used in architectural firms looking to create three-dimensional walkthroughs of buildings, when the automobile industry develops environments to test new vehicle design concepts, and when the medical industry creates test virtual reality environments to hone medical procedures and new tools and techniques.”
The launch event is free and open to the public. Food will be provided, and individuals who earn the highest score for each featured game will be awarded with prizes.
“We’d also love to see students who are interested in design careers and video game design to come out and talk to the students who are working on the minor,” Berg said. “We’ll also have future events for prospective students, including Game Design workshops hosted in the eSports Center.”